


Jade Charade

by Hanezora



Category: Vampire Knight
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Marriage of Convenience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-25
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-24 15:12:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/941435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanezora/pseuds/Hanezora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaname decides to marry Zero. By marrying a man, the Council of Elders will stop pestering him about an heir. By marrying an ex-human whose days are numbered, he doesn't have to deal with a long-term relationship. However, it could be the best and worst decision he has ever made.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jade Charade

**Author's Note:**

> There are differences to the original work:  
> 1\. This world is Rido-free  
> 2\. Zero's parents are still alive  
> 3\. Ever since he was turned into a vampire, he couldn't live with his family anymore and he accepted Cross's kindness to stay at his academy, taking his education while serving as a school guardian.
> 
> I didn't edit (except for the spelling check) after writing this, so I apologize for any inconsistency.

**I.**

Takuma finally caught up with his fast strides. The blonde vampire was breathing heavily, but his words were completely intelligible.

"It's a Kiryuu, Kaname! What are you thinking?!"

"Silence. I am not taking critiques from you."

"Kaname! Listen to me!"

"No, you listen to me, Takuma. I have decided. He will be my spouse, and I will be faithful to him."

"You don't even love him."

Kaname glared at his best friend sharply. They had stopped walking, for they had arrived at their destination. In front of them was a huge oak door with ancient carvings that told more stories than modern history books. It was the throne room. It should be kept closed until the coronation ceremony next week, but there were things Kaname had to take from there: his parents' ring, his mother's sacred cloak, and a few books. Kaname felt the sterilization of the throne room rule was ridiculous. He was going to work in it anyway, what's the use keeping it closed for him?

But just one week.

Just one more week and he'd have been free from all these stupid restrictions. Just one more week, and the Council of Elders would not be able to touch him again. Just one more week, and the world would completely under his command.

Kaname's parents had died when the pureblood was young, leaving the position of the sovereign vacant for many years. The Council of Elders took over the government of the vampire world and waited Kaname, the only heir to the Kuran line, to come of age. The Prince had his coming of age ceremony a few years ago, but he still could not inherit the crown. Another rule stated that the Prince could wear his crown and succeed his father's supremacy only if he had a wife. Kaname was not a romantic person, and this whole bullshit about having a wife had been annoying him to no end. He was itchy to get to the throne room as soon as possible, but he couldn't get through. Years passed by in vain, and to his frustration, he was nowhere nearer the power he deserved.

In his desperation, he considered marrying a human girl, a strong-headed (and also stone-headed) girl called Cross Yuki. Humans had very fleeting lifespan, and that short life could become shorter if they were turned into a Level D. However, the peace treaty between the vampire and hunters included the prohibition of turning a human into a vampire—while the absolute proof of marriage was the blood exchange. Kaname didn't want any noble—or worse, a pureblood. He couldn't think of living together a power-thirst spouse for the rest of his life.

Inspiration came to him when he visited Cross Kaien in the academy two years ago, when he was sent as the vampire's representative to have an audience with the hunters regarding their cohabitation policies. A silver-haired beauty came in to the meeting room bringing tea for the two of them. When their eyes met, the boy glared heatedly at Kaname. It was brief, but Kaname had been quite obsessed with the boy ever since then.

And before anyone got misunderstood, it was not love. Kuran Kaname knew no love.

Kaien told Kaname the boy's history, how he was the victim of a broken-hearted pureblood's revenge, and how was casted away from his family and society. He was a strong vampire hunter, with the Kiryuu blood running in his veins. But he became weak, and weaker, and weaker by each day passed, as the vampire venom from the pureblood who bit him ate at his own life. He had not much time left—a few years at most, living like a zombie without any motivation, and without a care in the world, knowing the end for him was getting nearer.

Kaname sympathized for him.

But the boy never returned his good intent, so Kaname became furious. The thought of making the boy submit to him then developed into this grand scheme that would help him reach his designated position faster than any other plan.

Purebloods could only marry once. It would be a bonus for Kaname if his spouse dies quickly. He didn't even have to worry about disposing of him.

"I don't have to love him to marry him."

"Does he know? Your intention?"

Kaname scoffed at the question. Of course Kiryuu knew. Kaname told the boy all about obtaining power first before all else. It was quite shocking that the silveret agreed to it without much protest. Even when Kaname told him that he would play the role of a wife, Kiryuu Zero didn't comment. He only asked whether he got to live at Kuran mansion, and if he was going to move there, when he had to start packing.

"Of course. I see it's a great choice for both of us," Kaname said confidently. "He wants money and luxury. I want my father's crown. We can get the things we want. It's a fair trade."

"What about the blood exchange?"

"He'll do it. No vampire in this world can resist the aroma of my blood."

"And you? You have to drink that… ex-human's blood."

"Only a droplet won't make me sick."

"What about his family? You don't want to anger the Kiryuu hunters. They're the most ferocious among their kind."

"He doesn't have a family. His parents kicked him out after he was turned. Now he's alone, and no one can decide for him but him alone. Stop it, Takuma. I'm not going to change my mind. Just a week more, and I can get anything I want without consulting with your grandpa. You want me to take my freedom, don't you?"

"Of course, Kaname! But… I don't think it's fair for Kiryuu-kun."

"He will not live long, anyway. If it's torture for him, he won't have to endure it for too much."

(*-*)

**II.**

Zero took Kaien's hand, his eyes cast downwards. Kaien had been looking at him with sorrowful look ever since he heard that Zero had accepted Kaname's hand in marriage. Kaien was opposed it. Although Kuran Kaname was a gentle-hearted pureblood—the son of his old crush, no less—he was still a pureblood. No sane pureblood would want to take an ex-human (of the same sex, too) as a wife. Purebloods look far into the future—they plan for their generation and their next generations. Fruitless marriage was unacceptable. As a pureblood, you could be gay, but at least you have to have a legitimate heir. What Kaname was doing was too suspicious to ignore.

Zero didn't need Kaien to understand. The senior hunter was only helping him cope with his new life; he hadn't the right to decide for Zero. Zero didn't need his family's approval, too. Ever since that night, he had no family. Ichiru sent him letters for the first year of his departure, but he, too, eventually forgot him. The Kiryuus were the strongest hunters, and also the strongest ones to oppose the pacifism between them and their prey.

Zero didn't need to be associated with them.

"I'm going," he murmured.

Kaien took the younger hunter into his embrace, pumping the air out of Zero's lungs. Zero was stunned. It was the closest skinship he'd ever had in seven years. He felt tears built up beneath his eyelids.

"Zero, you're just a child. You're barely eighteen! And now you're going away," Kaien whispered, his voice shaky. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I can't protect you. I'm sorry I couldn't be a better parent for you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

"Chairman," Zero bit back the tears, struggling to keep his voice steady, "I don't blame you. You're a good parent for me, I can't ask for more. It's my decision. I'm going."

"Would you tell me why you agreed to Kaname-kun's proposal?"

"I… I can't. Just believe me, I'll be fine."

Kaien tightened his hug. Zero felt his ribs could snap anytime soon. And before the arms around him became a lethal threat to his body, Kaien released him.

"Go, and be well. Keep in touch."

Zero smiled. He adjusted his coat and put on his traveling shoes.

"Thank you, Dad."

And then he opened the door. Kaname was already there, standing by his limo, waiting for him. When he and Zero's gazes met, he nodded, and then went into the car, leaving the door open. Zero went in and sat beside him. They sat as distant as they could on a narrow seat.

"You'll try the wedding gown today. It's not as girly as you might think—but at least you won't wear a suit.  _I_  will be the one to wear it. After fitting the clothes, we'll have lunch together with Akatsuki, the EO. Tomorrow will be quite tiresome. We'll hold the rehearsal. The people from the Council will come. I know your hatred towards our kind, but restrain yourself from being disrespectful. They'll skin you alive in front of everyone even if you just glare. Keep your eyes and voice down."

Silence ensued. Zero looked outside of the windows as the car moved out of the school grounds. His feelings were numbed.

"How do you feel?" the pureblood suddenly asked quietly.

"About what?"

"Marrying me."

"Nothing out of ordinary."

"Look at me when you talk to me!"

"I didn't promise I'd obey your every whim, Kuran."

Kaname's eyes narrowed, his claret orbs flashed bright red. He grabbed Zero's hand and pulled him closer. Zero yelped, but had no time to fight back. The next thing he knew, he was sitting on Kaname's lap, his hands were on the brunet's chest, and their lips were inches away. Kaname had his arms around Zero's waist, keeping him at place. Zero glared, but the proximity made him nauseous. Kuran was…

warm.

They locked gazes for a few seconds, before Kaname bit at his lower lip, making a droplet of pure blood oozed out of the puncture wound. Zero's body reacted. His whole body shivered, his throat turned dry.

"Kiss the blood away," Kaname ordered. He emphasized his intent by making another droplet.

"I believe there's another way for me to drink your blood," Zero growled.

Kaname hissed. He pulled Zero's shoulders and slammed his lips into Zero's. The younger vampire wasn't ready—Kaname used his slightly agape mouth to insert his tongue. Zero squirmed, but Kaname held him still. Zero tried to push Kaname's tongue away, but the pureblood bit him. It took a while until Zero stopped fighting, and they both drank hungrily from each other.

Kaname's blood made Zero hot all over. Whether it was the effect of blood rich with powers, Zero wasn't sure. The arms wrapped around him, the body beneath him, the slight bulge within his pants, everything made him shudder in anticipation—of what, Zero also wasn't sure. Kaname buried his hand into Zero's soft tresses; a possessiveness he didn't know was starting to overwhelm him. He wanted to have Zero, right then and there.

"Mmh—" Zero couldn't hold that one moan back. His hips started to move on their own, rubbing his lustful member onto Kaname's hardening one. His mind had left him. He couldn't think anymore. He wanted Kaname right then and there.

Kaname shifted. In one powerful push, he had Zero lying on the seat under him. The ex-human was panting hard, his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were glazed with desire, unfocused. Kaname kissed him again while he worked his fingers up Zero's chest, until they found his hardened nipple. Zero sighed in contentment, his nails dug into Kaname's arm. Somewhere in the back of his mind, something was screaming. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it was warning him that he had walked a path he could not trace back.

"You are mine, Zero, until death do us apart."

(*-*)

**III.**

Years had passed. Zero lived in the mansion with Kaname, but they rarely met. Their bedrooms were separate and they didn't take meals together. Sometimes Zero was required to attend meetings at Kaname's side, but most of the time he spent his days cooping up in his room, looking outside the window or reading. Zero was left alone to his own devices. He even hardly ever talked. The servants of the house served him without ever exchanging words with him. They hated him and refused to respect him because he was of a lesser rank compared to them.

They were servants, but at least they were natural-born vampires.

Kaname never tried to get close to Zero. Sometimes, after a troublesome dinner with his business colleagues or the Council, Kaname would come home and tired. At those rare moments, Kaname would go straight to Zero's quarters for fresh nourishment. Zero never refused. Not only because he didn't care what the pureblood do to him anymore—they were legally married, anyway—but also because he became weak each day passed. Lately, after taking his blood, Kaname would become violent and take him hard. Zero knew what caused it, though.

His blood had become sour. The vampire venom, which was eating out his human blood, was like cancer. It was poison, and as the name suggested, it was designed to kill. The hunter blood—a mix of vampire and human blood—somehow slowed down the intoxication, giving Zero a few years longer to live than most human after he was turned. But that few years was decreasing rapidly. That, and the fact that Kaname sometimes drank his blood by biting him, releasing his pureblood venom in the process, weakened Zero's constitution to a level that he couldn't go out of his room anymore. One day he would wake up feeling refreshed and decided to take a stroll around the garden, but he would collapse the next day and had to stay in bed for a few more days.

His healing ability had diminished. He even wondered if he was more fragile than normal human now.

Zero visited Kaien once in while in the early days of his marriage, but now it was Kaien's turn to visit him. Zero had lost his hunter senses, and he could not wield Bloody Rose anymore. The weapon didn't recognize him as a hunter anymore. During his visits, Kaien always acted like a goofy father he was, while his heart ached seeing his adopted son suffer. He was also mad at Kaname, who didn't do anything to make Zero's pain better.

"He has been coming here often lately," said Kaname from the entryway, surprising Zero, who could not sense his aura anymore. Zero turned his head at his spouse. The brunet walked across the room to the bed and sat on it, near Zero's blanket-covered feet. "What did you two talk about?"

"Nothing," said Zero, his voice weird. He hadn't talked for weeks before Kaien came, and even after talking to his foster dad, he still felt sharp pain in his throat, as if it were completely drained. "Just the usual stuff."

"What are usual?"

"The academy, the prefects, the day class girls that are still screaming like possessed fan girls whenever they saw the night class boys. And White Lily has delivered a male baby-horse."

Kaname felt the faint hint of longing in Zero's voice, because he then asked, "Do you want to see her?"

"No, not really. It's been a while since I visited her. She must have forgotten me."

"You've been staying in bed so much the past week. I think it's time for you to get your lazy ass up and work."

"Dinner with the Council?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Five days from now. At Ichijou Mansion."

"I don't think I can go."

"Why? Don't be scared. It's common knowledge to all of us that you'll get weak. It's inevitable. Everyone knows it and no one has tried to come here and kill you. You're completely safe with me."

"It's not that, Kaname." They were on the first name basis since their first time in the car. "I'm too weak even to sit down."

Kaname looked into Zero's lavender orbs. It was the first time they looked at each other when they were not making love since a long time. They never looked at each other when they talked, usually.

"You don't want me to fall over someone and make you embarrassed in the party, right?" Zero added when Kaname didn't say anything.

Then the pureblood scooted over. He held their gazes as he leaned down. Zero looked at him back with sheer courage. Kaname then averted his eyes to Zero's untattooed neck. Zero closed his eyes. He knew what was coming. A moment passed as he felt Kaname's brown locks brushed his chin. It was ticklish. And then sharp fangs tore into his skin. It was painful. More painful than ever before he felt he could burst in tears.

Kaname didn't drink much.

"Unsavory," he commented, poking his tongue out of his lips, as if doing so would erase the distastefulness in his mouth.

The blood didn't stop flowing out of the twin wounds—that didn't close instantly, dripping slowly and wetting the pillow under Zero.

"Great, now I really can't attend the dinner. I can't just go there with my whole body bandaged up. They'll think you've married a mummy."

"Good one there. Did you just say your  _whole_  body?"

"Don't mind it."

"I  _do_  mind," Kaname said, a bit shocking Zero. He took Zero's blanket and threw it off the silveret's body, ignoring Zero's weak protest, "Kaname!"

Kaname unbuttoned Zero's pajama shirt, tearing them off a little too impatiently. Zero's skin was pale and flawless… if not for the large bruises here and there. His eyes went towards Zero's left hand that was covered in new bandage but there was already a circle of blood coloring its pure whiteness.

"It's the cut from last week? It's still bleeding? And where did you get those bruises?"

"I fell off the stairs three days ago. Seiren helped me back here. Nothing broken."

Kaname sighed. "You're getting worse faster than I expected."

"I should have been dead by now if not for this tattoo," Zero answered truthfully.

"You never told me."

"You never cared. Why all the questions, Kaname? Are you counting the days I have left before you need to make reservation in the public cemetery?"

"No. There will be no body to bury when you die. An urn is all we need."

With that, Kaname stood and left. Zero pulled the blanket over his sore body and curled. He didn't know why, but Kaname's words earlier hurt his feelings more than anything the pureblood had done to him before.

(*-*)

**IV.**

Zero wanted to pee.

He pushed his body off of the bed and then grabbed the walking stick. He couldn't go anywhere without it now. Soon, he would need a wheelchair. And soon after that, he wouldn't be able to leave his bed at all. Not that it mattered. He'd known from the start, that one day he would turn to ash silently in his bedroom and no one would know it. Maybe they'd find the remnants of his ash on the bed days after he stopped asking for meals. Zero planned on letting the window open when he died, so that Kaname didn't need to buy an urn and gather his ash into it.

Zero's bedroom was far from any operable rooms. The room next to his was a library. And it was freaking huge. The closest room after that was the study, where he made out with Kaname once. It was the only time he ever visited that room. And two rooms after the study was the closest toilet. Zero heard murmurs from the study. It wasn't Kaname's voice. Guests? He didn't know that Kaname was receiving guests today. Not that the pureblood always reported anything to him, though.

"… die soon, anyway…"

Zero stopped. It sounded like they were talking about him. Those insolent bastards, already talking about his death this early. They didn't know how it felt to lose all the supernatural powers and couldn't do a thing even if he wanted to. Even his aura had faded; his blood scent had completely gone.

Zero continued walking. The toilet just a few meter away. He could still hear parts of the conversation as he sauntered away.

"… Kaname-sama… too powerful…"

"… the party…"

"… effective…"

"… it will surely kill him."

Zero stopped again. Murder? They were planning on a murder of a pureblood? How foolish. They wouldn't be able to get away with it. Purebloods are hard to kill. Those who want to kill them will surely need support of people in the high position, like the Council of Elders. Whatever you do, no matter how well you plan it out, the murder of a pureblood is the easiest crime to track. Supernatural strength aside, the motif why people want a pureblood dead is limited. If not power, then it's revenge.

Very easy to solve.

Zero continued walking to the toilet. He didn't have time to fill his thought with Kaname more than he already had. It was of no benefit for him to be concerned with Kaname's well-being, the feeling wasn't reciprocal. Why should he care what the pureblood did, and whose anger he had ignited? Zero wouldn't be involved in it. First, he was going to bite the dust soon. Second, well, he was as good as nonexistent in the vampire world. He still remembered how Elder Ichiou, the head of the Council, eyed him when he stood beside Kaname in front of the altar and vowed his loyalty to the pureblood. Zero knew what the old man was thinking. If Kaname was actually gay, he should have chosen his grandson instead of a mongrel from the slums. Of course, Ichiou could interfere with Kaname's plan had the pureblood and Zero not exchanged blood before telling him about the marriage.

The blood bond was unbreakable. And even though one of the couple died before the other, the living could not remarry. He could have love affairs as much as he wanted, but to have another spouse was impossible.

That was exactly Kaname's plan—to live as freely as he could without anyone hindering him. After Zero's death, he'd be a completely free man.

Accepting this marriage wasn't hard for Zero. He had been searching for a way to leave his past behind, and Kaname's proposal back then was like a huge glowing EXIT sign in the dark. Zero understood what mess he had gone into. But if by marrying the pureblood whom he never talked to before would grant him a silent and solitary life, away from anyone, then he'd accept it. He didn't care if Kaname turned out to be an abusive lover or a slave-driver. He'd die soon anyway.

Kaname, too, if he didn't do anything to stop the murder plan in the party in the next two days.

And if that really happened, the tables would be unexpectedly turned. Kaname died before his dying ex-human mate. Zero would be the one who gathered his ash. Zero would be the one who prepared the funeral. And then he would be the only master of the house, living in the grand castle alone.

No one would occasionally sleep with him anymore.

No one would bother to take his blood anymore—even though the taste had gone bad, like rotten vegs.

And he would never see Kaname's face, nor would his voice.

If he let the murder plan happen, in two days he'd be widowed.

Zero fell onto the floor. His knees hit the marble tiles hard, but that wasn't what made him cry. He put his hands on his face, muffling his silent sobs. Tears seeped out through his fingers. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't be able to do it. He couldn't even think of living without Kaname. All this time he always thought that he wouldn't feel lonely, because he was the one to leave everyone. The lesser people to be sad about his death, the better. It was his intention from the beginning. The only one who cared for him was just Kaien, so he left long ago, so the older hunter would forget him. Than one bit of the plan didn't work out well though, because Kaien insisted on visiting him once he lost the ability to travel far.

But thinking that someone very close to him was going to leave him… it was unbearable. Before he knew it, Kaname had found a place in his heart, always coming into his dreams, and filling his mind without restraint. Kaname had become his most important person, his anchor to life.

Even one day without knowing that Kaname was well was like torture for him.

That day, when he knew Kaname had resigned to his quarters after the tiresome night, Zero mustered all the strength he had left to visit him and said that he wanted to attend the dinner party. Kaname laughed the thought off.

"I thought you hated such gatherings. Why do you suddenly  _want_  to attend?"

"I don't know," Zero shrugged nervously, trying hard not to utter his actual reason. "Maybe because it could be the last party I can attend while I'm still alive."

Zero's back was turned at Kaname as he sat on the pureblood's bed—the pureblood sat at another end—but somehow he felt Kaname's eyes on him. It felt… strange. Was Kaname feeling sad hearing his words, realizing that his one and only mate will leave him soon? Or did he think Zero's irrational reasoning ridiculous? Or was he mad for the ex-human's audacity of asking him a favor?

"Alright," Kaname then said. "When I think about it again, it'll make me look good. It'll make me look like a loving husband, appearing with a clipped wife. Make sure to never let my hand go, Zero."

"I know," Zero said, as he stood up. He added quietly, "I'll never let you go."

(*-*)

**V.**

It could be the best and worst decision Kaname had ever made. He had known about the murder plan for a long time, and attending Ichijou's party was so that he could reveal the whole conspiracy in the Council. He had his faithful follower—Akatsuki, Ruka, and Hanabusa—assisting him with the whole plan. Everything was perfectly calculated, they didn't miss any loophole. The only thing Kaname never considered was his spouse's attempt to protect him, which in turn led to his premature death.

It was Zero's birthday the week after the party. Kaname had bought an urn and was going to present it as a joke. He knew the silveret wouldn't be mad at it, and would just laugh it off. The idea of his death had been a secret deliverance for him, as if talking and laughing about it would make the pain easier to bear. Kaname didn't like it, but he wanted to see Zero laugh. So he bought an urn. And an actual birthday present, of course.

He never thought he'd actually use the urn to contain Zero's ash the day after he took the anti-vampire charm.

He knew Zero was going to die soon, but not this soon.

When Zero fell off his chair after a powerful charm hit him square in the heart, Kaname's ears rang, his sight turn black. Zero was on the floor, limp. His eyes fluttered closed, and his lips were open, trying to tell him something. So Kaname knelt down, holding Zero close. Akatsuki and Hanabusa came to the dining hall with a renegade vampire that they caught after shooting the charm. The plan was to let the assassin be done with his maneuver—so that they could gather fresh evidence of betrayal. The two high school idols were rendered speechless as they saw what had happened.

"Kaname," Zero whispered, his weak hand tried to touch Kaname's cheek, but couldn't, so Kaname took it in his hand and squeezed it.

"Stop talking. Takuma, call the doctor," Kaname ordered, his voice was strange and didn't sound like him at all.

"Thank you," Zero said.

"I told you to stop talking!" Kaname raised his voice, but Zero smiled.

"Thank you… for giving me a chance to fall in love."

(*-*)

**VI.**

The doctor could never save his love. His healing ability had completely disappeared, making recovery an impossible task. After a thorough examination, Kaname was hit by the news that most of Zero's internal organs had failed long before the bloody incident. It was a wonder that he could still see, speak, and hear, not to mention walking to the toilet and Kaname's bedroom, which was the farthest place from Zero's. He should have known that when an ex-human's healing ability had disappeared; it means that his body has been destroyed beyond repair, because a human's body is too weak to contain vampire venom.

Kaname made Zero a beautiful grave with purple flowers blooming around the carvings of KURAN ZERO on the tombstone. He put the urn with Zero's ash under the soil, as if it wasn't ashes, but Zero's body that lied down there. Kaname hated graveyards, but ever since that day, he'd visit it every day.

Marrying Zero could be the best and worst decision Kaname had ever made. Because Zero taught him how wonderful it was to be in love, and how painful it was to lose it.

(*-*)

**THE END**


End file.
